The Fall of a King and Queen
by TheBeastEast
Summary: <html><head></head>King Cosmos and Queen Galaxia are the perfect parents. Or so they seem. But when Celestia and Luna discover a well-hidden secret, their souls are scared forever.</html>
1. Raising the Sun

The Fall of a King and Queen

Part I

"Look mother! I did it! I did it!" Celestia shouted as the sun slowly rose above the horizon.

"Wonderful! Your father will be so proud of you!" Queen Galaxia said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"…What's upsetting you mother? Did I do something wrong?" Celestia said worriedly.

Queen Galaxia laughed. "Oh, it's nothing sweetie. I'll go wake up your sister."

Celestia couldn't help but be worried about her mother._ Why would my mother be upset? _Celestia thought. _Everything she's taught me has led up to me being able to raise the sun. What reason does she have to be sad?_

"Celestia! Did you _really_ raise the sun?! Wow! You did!" Luna nearly shouted as she bounded out of the castle and stared at the beautiful sunrise.

"Aww… it was nothing, Luna. Really!" Celestia said modestly.

"Are you kidding?! You just raised the **sun**! Everything we've been taught has prepared us for raising the sun and moon!" Luna said, unable to believe that Celestia could be so casual about her greatest accomplishment.

"Well, it is kind of awesome… Oh, Luna! Who am I kidding! I just raised the suuunnn! I just raised the suuunnn!" Celestia sang as she danced in a pool of sunlight.

"That's the spirit! I knew you couldn't contain your excitement!" Luna said, joining Celestia in her dance.

"Ooh! Maybe tonight I can try raising the moon! Wouldn't that be cool? We both raise our celestial bodies for the first time on the same day! Ooh! Raising the sun and moon _every day_ will be so much fun!" Luna said.

"Don't get to ahead of yourselves, fillies. You still have a lot of training to do before this can be a regular thing." A deep voice behind them said.

"Father!" Celestia and Luna shouted as they ran toward King Cosmos.

He tilted his head up and looked at the sunrise, smiling with pride.

"Look father! Look what Celestia did this morning!" Luna said before Celestia got a chance.

"Do you like it father?" Celestia said, recognizing a look of sadness on her father's face.

"It's… beautiful, honey." He said.

"Celestia, why don't you and your sister go inside and… uh… start on a tapestry! Yes, a tapestry! We need to remember this day! Well, run along now…" King Cosmos said, a little too quickly.

"Well… okay, father… we'll go start on it right away… C'mon Luna…" Celestia said.

**Author's Note: Thank you for reading my fanfic! Please leave a review :)


	2. The Locked Book

Part II

"I just don't get it!" Celestia shouted as she and Luna walked up the cobblestone road to the castle.

"Oh, calm down, Celestia. They're probably just sad their little princess is all grown up." Luna teased.

"Just let it go, sister. We have work to do. As soon as we get inside, l'll go get the cloth, and you find our needles. Okay?"

"Fine." Celestia said. Though she was far from letting it go…

On the Hill

"But… it's so soon! How can she raise the sun at her age?! "King Cosmos thundered. "When Luna successfully raises the moon, they'll both get their cutie marks! Then we'll-"

"Calm down, Cosmos!" Queen Galaxia interrupted. She sighed, then continued. " She's still young, and her powers are unpredictable. It's not like she'll have the power to raise the sun every day. She probably won't even be able to lower it tonight…"

King Cosmos calmed down a bit. "You're right, dear. There is no reason to be concerned. For now…"

Inside the Castle

"And a stitch here… and some gold thread there… and some orange there… and some- OW!" Luna shouted the last word as she poked her hoof with the needle.

The sisters were sitting in the throne room, weaving the tapestry that celebrated Celestia's raising of the sun.

"Are you okay, Luna?" Celestia said, looking up from their tapestry.

"Yeah… I'm fine. I just pricked my hoof."

"Hey sister… what's that?" Celestia said, pointing to a book on her mother's throne.

"I don't know… I've never seen it before." Luna flew over to the throne, picked up the book, and tried to open it.

"It's locked." Luna said with disappointment.

"I wonder what sort of book it is…" Celestia said, examining the rich leather and golden clasps. "It doesn't have a title. Just some swirls and stars imprinted on the leather."

"It must be important if it's locked." Luna said "None of the other books in the royal library are locked."

"Hmm… I wonder if the spell I learned last week would open it." Celestia said.

"Uh… Celestia? Last time you cast that spell the lock you were trying to open caught on fire…" Luna said, remembering her father's stern look while he poured water on the small inferno.

"And this is a book. You _really_ don't want to mess up this time…"

"You have a point, Luna. Maybe we should just try to open it without magic." Celestia said hopefully.

"It's a magic lock Celestia… I studied these a couple months ago. You put one on a book and cast this special spell. Then only you can unlock it. If someone else tries to unlock it, the book teleports to its owner. Well, I think that's how it works…" Luna said, recalling her lessons.

"Wait! Luna! Do you remember when mother taught us how to change the color of our magic?"

"Umm… yeah, but what does that have to do with this?" Luna said. "This isn't exactly a spy mission, we're trying to open a book!"

"Don't worry Luna, I have a plan…"

That Night

"I really don't know why we have to read the book… If we get caught we'd be in so much trouble!"

It was about five o'clock that evening. Celestia and Luna were huddled behind a column that held up the archway into the throne room.

"Don't you dare flake out on this, Luna! You said it yourself, this will totally work!" Celestia said, charging up her horn for a spell. "Now, do you remember everything?"

"Running through it again wouldn't hurt…"

Celestia rolled her eyes. "Fine." She said "When our mother comes into the throne room, she'll probably notice her book is on all messed up and on the floor, and pick it up. Our whole plan depends on whether or not she opens the book. If she does, continue with the plan. I've already changed out horn colors to green, so we don't have to worry about our magic being recognized. When she opens the book, I'll teleport it over here, and then you teleport us to the library. From there we can combine our powers and teleport us all the way outside the castle!"

"But what if they realize we're missing? It won't be long before they pin it on us!" Luna whispered, for a guard had entered the throne room.

Celestia giggled. "I took care of that. If our parents come into my room, it'll look like we're taking a nap."

"Celestia!" Luna angry-whispered. "We haven't taken naps in ages! They won't fall for that!"

"Oh, calm down Luna. I took care of that to. I told the healer that I wasn't feeling well, and he whipped me up a sleep tonic. The empty cup is on my nightstand."

Luna sighed. She was still worried, even though her sister's plan was near fool proof.

"Luna! Our parents are coming!"

The sisters huddled against the column even more so. They watched as their parents walked up to the thrones.

"Cosmos! Look!" Queen Galaxia exclaimed as she spotted her book. It looked like someone was struggling to open it.

_Perfect…_ Celestia thought. She loved making her parents proud, but she always loved a good prank.

Queen Galaxia waved her horn in front of the lock, casting a spell to make the gears click and open.

She sighed with relief when she saw that the book wasn't damaged.

"Now!" Luna whispered as Celestia began casting the teleportation spell.

"Wha- huh?!" Queen Galaxia said as a flash of green swallowed the book.

"What's going on?!" King Cosmos thundered at the cold stone walls.

Suddenly, they saw a flash behind a column.

"There! Guards! Catch the thief!" The rulers said.

A flood of guards came rushing into the throne room from who-knows-where, determined to catch the burglar.

They never saw the burglar. By the time the guards rounded the column, all that was left was some green smoke.

Inside the Library

"That was so cool!" Celestia said as the sisters appeared in the library.

"Yeah, if you call almost getting caught cool!" Luna shouted "Half a second longer and we'd be grounded for a year!"

"Oh calm down, Luna. It's probably just your emotions interfering with your magic again."

"You're probably right about that. But we aren't done with our "mission" yet. We still have to teleport outside." Luna said.

Celestia was brought out of her reckless side and in to her responsible side.

"Oh, right. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

The sisters began charging up their horns. Suddenly, they were wrapped in bright green smoke.

"Celestia… is it supposed to smoke this much?" Luna said with worry.

"Uh… nope! We're all good!" It wasn't supposed to smoke this much. Celestia knew that. She just didn't want to further worry her sister.

With a powerful green flash, the sisters where teleported outside, where the royal family had stood looking at Celestia's sunrise that very morning.

"Phew!" Luna said. "That spell was a toughy!"

"You got that right!" Celestia said. "Now, to the club house!"

**Authors Note: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry for any spelling or grammar errors, I was in a bit of a hurry when I typed this. Please leave a review; they are very, **very** helpful.


	3. A Bone Littered Cave

Part III

"Wow!" Celestia exclaimed as the sisters ran down the hill and into a nearby forest.

"I can't believe that actually worked!"

"Even though we did almost get caught, that was pretty exciting." Luna said, not wanting to admit how much fun she had with the prank.

Now this forest that the princesses were entering was not a pleasant, airy little forest, but more of a great and terrible jungle, full of creatures like dragons, manticore, and cockatrice so fierce that no one dared to enter. The clouds moved themselves, the plants grew wherever they wanted, and the animals needed no pony to take care of them.

"Out of all the forests in the world, why is our clubhouse in the Everfree Forest?" Luna asked

"Because if it were anywhere else, it would probably get discovered." Celestia said matter-of-factly.

"C'mon, we'd better get going. I think it might rain soon, and I really don't want the book to get wet."

The sisters quickly found the trail they had made, and followed it to a cave with vines covering its entrance. The cave wasn't really a very big cave, maybe the size of Luna's bedroom. It was slimy inside, with a few animal bones lying around.

"Celestia, we're the luckiest fillies around. Not only do we have our own clubhouse, we have a _secret _clubhouse." Luna said as she started to charge her horn.

"Luna! Hurry up and cast that spell! The clouds are gathering up and getting darker…" Celestia said, looking worriedly up at the darkening sky.

Suddenly, a bright flash of green swallowed the cave. There was nothing there for a second.

"Great, Luna. Next time I'll cast the sp-"

_FLASH!_

"And you doubted my magical abilities. Tsk, tsk." Luna scolded as she pulled back the vines leading in to the now cleaned up clubhouse.

The bones and slime were gone, and the smelly stone floor was replaced by firm dirt. On the end furthest away from the entrance there was a small fireplace, and to the left of that there were a few chests and a bookshelf. In front of the fireplace was a cozy red rug.

"I'll lay down our blankets, and you start a fire so we have some light, okay?" Luna said as she trotted over to the chests and took out two blankets, a red, yellow, and orange one and a dark blue and white one.

Celestia nodded and immediately summoned a small fire in the fireplace.

"Okay, now to figure out what the hay is in the book." Celestia said, lying down on the fire colored blanket.

"It looks like a notebook. Or maybe a diary!" Luna said, lying down on her blanket and examining the first paragraph.

"Hey, Celestia! It _is_ a diary! This entry is from two years ago when our parents taught is to fly!"

"Uh, Luna? Maybe we, uh… shouldn't read it." Now that Celestia knew the book was a diary, she just didn't feel right about poking through it.

"Celestia, we went through all that work to get this book, and you're not even going to read it?! Please, please, _please_ tell me you're joking." Luna said, not even looking up from the book.

"I suppose it would be pretty silly now to not do anything with it… I mean, we've come this far, right?"

"That's the spirit! I knew you'd come around. Ooh! Look at this entry!" Luna said.

Celestia moved her blanket closer to Luna's so they could both read the diary. Both sisters smiled when they read what was written.

_February 10__th_

_ I'm so proud of Celestia and Luna! Almost two weeks ago I started teaching them how to clear clouds from the sky, and now they're already doing it on their own! It's strange to think that in a few months they could be raising the sun and moon! Oh, they grow up to fast! All the more reason to love and cherish them now, I suppose._

The princesses flipped through the book, reading entries that grabbed their attention. Suddenly, Luna slapped the book shut, but not before casting a spell on the lock.

"What was that for?" Celestia asked her frantic sister.

"Can you not hear that?! The guards! They're coming! _Hide the book_!"

Celestia was taken aback by her sister's sharp tone. But soon she too heard the pounding of hoofs and the clanking of armor. Celestia hid the book in the chest, and pulled out a game of chess. She franticly set up the game, while Luna charged up her horn to change the color of their magic to their original colors.

Celestia and Luna managed to dive into a chess-playing-position just as the Captain of the Royal guard pushed back the vines and entered the cave.

"Ah, there you girls are." The Captain said with a sigh of relief. "The Castle was robbed, and your parents panicked when they couldn't find you."

Luna shot a confused glance at Celestia, who shrugged in response.

"Thanks for coming to look for us, Roland. So, what is all this about the castle being robbed?" Celestia asked innocently.

"And how do you know where our clubhouse is?!" Luna asked suddenly.

Roland smiled at the curious fillies. "About fifteen minutes ago, your mother was flipping through a book, only to have it swallowed by a green flame and stolen away. While the guards tried to catch the thief, your father hurried to check if you two were okay. I went into Celestia's room to discover you were gone, and so I figured you must be in your clubhouse, and rushed here. And how do I know about your clubhouse? Little fillies, don't you remember who first showed you this hidden cave?"

The sisters felt foolish as they remembered. It was Roland who first showed them this cave, tucked deep away in the Everfree Forest. They remembered that warm summer day five years before…

"_Where are we going, Roland? You said you had something important to show us!" Celestia said as her mane got caught on a bramble. "You didn't say we'd be hiking into the Everfree Forest!"_

"_Ow! Roland! My wing just got pricked by a thistle! This better be worth it…" Luna said, yanking her slightly aching wing close to her body._

"_Calm down little fillies, we're almost there."_

_After a few more minutes of struggling through the thicket, the hikers reached a small clearing in the forest. On the far end was a small cave with vines hanging down, covering the entrance._

"_Here it is! Isn't it wonderful?" Roland said excitedly as he made his way across the clearing. He pulled back the vines to reveal a slimy room with a few bones from animals the sisters could only guess at._

_There were a few seconds of silence. Then Luna said, in a near disbelieving tone, "__**This**__ is what you wanted to show us? A slimy, bone littered cave? Ugh, I'm going home."_

"_Not just any slimy, bone littered cave! __**This **__is a __**secret**__ slimy, bone littered cave. And guess what? It used to be my old clubhouse!" Roland exclaimed proudly._

"_Wait, you used to hang out in here…?" Celestia asked "But it's so… filthy!"_

"_Well, I have a spell for that!" Suddenly, Roland's horn began to glow a beautiful cyan. There was a flash of light, and in place of the slimy cave there was a slightly larger cave. But there were more changes than size. The interior of the cave was now warm and roomy, with a firm dirt floor, a fireplace, chest, and bookshelf. In front of the fireplace was a warm red rug._

_Roland smiled to himself as he saw the look of awe on the princess's faces._

"_Oh, don't act so shocked. Just a simple cloaking spell. Come inside, and get to know your new clubhouse."_

"_**Our**__ new clubhouse?" Celestia asked "As in, this super ultra amazing spectacular secret clubhouse is __**ours**__?"_

"_Oh, don't act so shocked. Did you think I dragged you girls out here just to flaunt this epic cave and then __**not**__give it to you? What do you think I am? A jerk?" Roland said, as the fillies cautiously stepped inside and sat down on the rug._

"_Thank you so much!" both sisters said in unison._

"_Oh, it's no trouble at all. No trouble at all."_

**Author's Note: Yay! Finally got to introduce my OC! Sorry this chapter wasn't out yesterday, it's been a busy couple of days. Anyway, thanks for reading, and as always, please leave a review!


	4. Author's Note

Author's Note:

Hello! First of all, thank you for reading my fanfic, it means a lot. Secondly, since school starts back up today, don't expect chapter 4 until this Saturday (I'm sorry! It's going to be a busy week!). Also, I have drawn a picture of Roland, my OC, which you can view here: art/Roland-488376909?ga_submit_new=10%253A1413258959


	5. Moon Magic

Part IV

As the royal trio made their way back to the castle, Celestia noticed Luna giving her the "we need to talk" look. The sisters hung back while Roland plunged deeper into the forest.

"What, Luna." Celestia asked bluntly.

"Hmm, oh nothing. Maybe I'm just wondering _why in the world your illusion didn't hold!"_

"Oh… that…" Celestia said with a hint of shame. After all, a pony that could raise the sun should have no problem with conjuring a simple illusion.

"We're lucky the guards wear such heavy, clanking armor. If they didn't, we'd be caught for sure!"

"Look, Luna. We didn't get caught. That's the main thing, right?"

Luna glanced further up the trail to see if Roland was still trudging on ahead. Satisfied that the Captain of the Royal Guard couldn't hear them, Luna said "I guess. But you have to make sure it doesn't happen again. If we attempt another crazy stunt like this, and your magic fails, we'd definitely get caught."

"Who's the older sister here?" Celestia teased as Luna rolled her eyes from their old joke.

"C'mon. We'd better get going before Roland notices we're gone."

And with that, the two fillies tried to catch up to the guard, but as Celestia's light pink mane caught on thorns and brambles, Luna asked "Teleportation, maybe?"

Inside the Castle

"Honey, you have to calm down and stop pacing, or you'll carve a hole in the floor." Queen Galaxia said, barley restraining her emotions.

"**How can you tell me to calm down?!"** King Cosmos said in a voice that made the castle walls shake. The rulers were in the throne room, waiting for Roland to return.

"**That thief stole your diary; he could have foalnapped our daughters!**" the King shouted in a voice that made the nearest maid shrink with fear.

"Cosmos, tell me how freaking out will bring our daughters home safely." Queen Galaxia said with calmness she certainly wasn't feeling.

"Mother? Father?" Two filly's voices chimed from across the room.

"You're alright!" the Queen exclaimed as she and her husband rushed to her daughters.

"Father…" Celestia whispered as the family embraced. "Are you crying?"

"Of course not! I would never cry!" King Cosmos snapped, looking sharply upward to hide his tears.

The sisters giggled and hugged their parents harder. After a minute of silence, Queen Galaxia lifted her tear-stained face and said, "Well, I think it's about time we joined the guards in the search for the thief."

Celestia and Luna looked at each other guiltily, but nonetheless followed their parents as they stood up and began to walk into the hall.

"Celestia, I feel awful about stealing that book." Luna whispered as the sisters walked into the hallway.

"Me too. Do… do you think we should return it?" Celestia asked worriedly.

"I don't know about that. We went through all that trouble to steal it, and we caused a lot of grief… it'd be a shame just to throw it all away. " Luna looked down at the polished floor, her barely visible reflection staring back at her.

"I suppose your right. But as soon as we're done with the book, we have to return it. No excuses." Celestia looked at her sister, who was struggling with the balance of good and evil inside her.

"Hey… Luna, it's alright. We'll just read the book, return it, and everything will be fine. There's nothing wrong with being curious."

Luna took a deep breath in, counted to three, and let it all out. "You're right. There is nothing wrong with being curious. There but there _is_ something wrong with stealing and lying from our parents. We have to make it up to them somehow…"

"Luna, that's easy. All you have to do to make it up to our parents is to raise the moon tonight. You know how proud they'll be!" Celestia said, glancing up at a nearby grandfather clock. It was fifteen to six. Almost time for Luna to raise the moon.

"Okay, Luna. Let's just walk around with our parents and "look for the thief". You just try to calm yourself down so your emotions don't interfere with your magic. Plan?"

"…Plan." Luna said after a moment of hesitation. 

"And whatever you do… please, please, _please_ try not to do that _thing_ you did when Starry Night died." Celestia said with worry in her voice.

"Don't mention him… it just makes me sadder than I already am." Luna said

_About three years ago, Luna had been given a baby Ursa Minor for her birthday. She loved Starry Night- Luna would let him snuggle into bed with her at night and she played with him all day. Finally Starry Night got too big for Luna to care for, and she had to let him go. As her family gathered at the edge of the Everfree Forest, Luna unclipped Starry Night's leash and let him run into the forest. He turned back to see Luna's tearing eyes urging him to be free where he belonged. He finally turned to leave- and walked straight into the gaze of a Cockatrice. Luna had never gotten over his death, and for weeks afterward had powerful emotion- related magic surges. She once accidentally fired a magic beam so powerful it had burned a hole right through the stone of her bedroom._

"You don't have to worry about _that_, Celestia. This isn't nearly as bad as when Starry died." Luna said.

"Good. Now, let's get going. Our parents are expecting us to look for the thief." Celestia said as she pretended to look into passing rooms for the burglar.

Ten Minutes Later

"Well, there doesn't seem to be any sign of the thief, and it's nearly sunset. Perhaps we should make our way to the hill?" Queen Galaxia said to a very frustrated King Cosmos.

The king closed his eyes for a minute, then calmly said, "Yes, dear. It's time for Luna to have another go at raising the moon."

Queen Galaxia turned to her daughters, who were searching sofa cushions for the burglar.

"Girls, it's almost time for sunset. We'd better get out to the hill, and let the guards continue the search."

Celestia seemed glad that the search was over, but poor Luna just looked nervous. As the family trotted through the stone hallways of the castle, Celestia tried (and failed) to calm her sister down.

"Luna, it's alright if you fail. You shouldn't be worrying about this so much." Celestia said for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Oh, Celestia. I'm just so nervous. What if I fail? What if I let our parents down? I have to succeed, Celestia! And you said it yourself; all I need to do to make up for stealing the book is to raise the moon tonight. If I fail at this, I'll never be able to let it go!" Luna was nearly hysterical now.

Celestia took in a deep breath, like how she always did when she was trying to calm down. As soon as she exhaled she lifted her right hoof- and smacked it straight across Luna's jaw.

"OW! What was that for!" Luna shrieked.

"Pull yourself together! Do you even hear yourself right now?" Celestia said in a most un-Celestia like manner. "You are Princess Luna! Guardian of the Night! And you're worrying about not being able to raise the moon?! Good Faust, Luna. You _are_ the moon! Your mane is made from the stars and your coat is the same blue as puddles of moonlight. Just channel that moon magic and you'll have no problem with your- _predicament_."

"Moon magic? I suppose I could try that…" Luna said, rubbing her sore jaw. "You know, when father was teaching me basic levitation and I was having trouble with it, he said that whenever he tries a real hard spell he looks deep within himself and uses the power of the stars. I tried it and lifted a teacup no problem. I don't see why it wouldn't work here."

"That's the spirit! Now, get out there and give it all you got!" Celestia said, pushing her sister toward the door that led to the hill.

** Author's Note: Oh. My. GOD I AM SO SORRY THIS WASN'T OUT SOONER. We had a storm the day I was suppose to upload it and our power went out. After that I was scrambling to finish this chapter and then- surprise! My dad took the family on a week-long fishing trip. I AM SOOOOOOOOOO SORRY! Well, despite how long it took to get this chapter out, I must say I'm not very proud of it. Nothing really happens and Luna is a total sissy. Ugh, hopefully the next chapter is better!


	6. Raising the Moon

Part V

"It's alright, Luna. Just channel your inner moon magic and you'll raise that pesky moon no problem." Celestia encouraged as the royal family stood on the hill outside of the castle.

"Just do your best, Luna. We'll be proud of you no matter how you do." Queen Galaxia said with more than a tint of worry in her voice.

Luna blinked. _Maybe Celestia was right. _She thought. _Mother and father are looking a little more worried than they should be about this._ Luna remembered how strange her father had behaved this morning. It was weird- King Cosmos and Queen Galaxia usually celebrated their daughters' accomplishments. _Well, I'd better try raising the moon._ Luna took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Luna felt her horn light up as the familiar tingle of magic returned. _Just a simple levitation spell. That's all this really is._ The Princess of the Night closed her eyes to better focus on the immense task ahead of her. Her breathing slowed as she concentrated on the moon- and everything she loved about it. How big and bright it was, but not so bright that you hurt your eyes when you looked at it. It was amazing how it lit up the darkest nights when the clouds parted. Luna's horn glowed even brighter as stars and streams of sparkles shot out of it and enveloped the celestial body from which she got her name.

"She's doing it! She's really doing it!" Celestia shouted, for the wind had picked up and was now howling as it tore the leaves from the trees.

The moon was slowly climbing over the horizon; Luna's sparkling magic caressing it as it made its ascend.

"Wait- what's happening?!" King Cosmos shouted. Luna's magic began swirling around her and lifting her up as she unknowingly kept pouring out more magic than she ever had. The wind was getting more and more powerful as Luna fed it with her power. Suddenly, she opened her eyes- and they were as white as the moon.

"Luna! Stop!" Celestia shouted over the howling of the wind and the screaming of the magic. The wind was blowing the royal family nearly into the air and tearing plants from their roots.

"Wha- huh?" Luna's eye color returned as she shook her head, pulling herself from the magical trance.

The wind immediately died down and the swirling magic disappeared, dropping an exhausted Luna from her height.

As her head hit the soft grass, the last thing Luna remembered was seeing her family stand up from the hill, then all went black.

Inside Luna's Room; A Few Hours Later

"I can't believe it, Cosmos! She showed more magical power than a filly her age should have!" Queen Galaxia said in an angered whisper.

Luna was too weak to open her eyes yet, but she was just recovering and could hear her parents whispering from across the room. _Room? Where am I? And how did I get here?_ Luna tried with all her might to move a leg, but to no avail. She was just beginning to feel again, and from the textures around her she guessed she was in her bed. Since she couldn't move yet, Luna decided to try to listen in on her parent's conversation.

"I'm not exactly sure what went on there…" King Cosmos said with more worry Luna had ever heard in his voice. _What are they so worked up about?_ Luna wondered.

"She was _this close_ to raising the moon! Luna shouldn't have been about to do that for another year!" Cosmos whispered.

Luna couldn't understand anything her parents were saying, but she recognized that tone. That was the same panicked tone they had been using since Celestia raised the sun this morning. What were they so worked up about?

"It was a miracle that Celestia had enough magic to raise the sun this morning, but Luna?!" Queen Galaxia whispered as Luna continued to eavesdrop. "She's always been the weaker sister, but tonight she nearly got her cutie mark! Once Luna raises the moon, both sisters will get their cutie marks. Do you realize what that means, Cosmos?! Time is running out. We have to make the most of what time there is left. Soon-" Queen Galaxia's words were interrupted as Luna heard the door open.

"Here's the tea and cloth you requested, fair queen." Luna recognized the voice as that of Gingersnap, one of the castle's maids.

"Thank you, Ginger. You can put them down on that table." Queen Galaxia said, quickly disguising the panic in her voice.

Luna heard Gingersnap set the tray on her desk table, then exit the room. But Luna was getting bored, and since she couldn't decipher her parents' words, she decided to try moving again. With a flutter of her eyelashes, the world came into focus.

"Luna!" King Cosmos exclaimed as the royal couple rushed to hug their daughter.

"Is Luna awake?" Celestia said, rushing into the room. She was levitating a glass of tea and two apple muffins.

"Ho- how long have I been asleep?" Luna said as she sat up and started rubbing the side of her head. "And does anyone else hear that really high-pitched noise?"

"Oh, Luna!" Queen Galaxia said. "We were so worried about you!"

Celestia ran over to Luna's bedside; nearly spilling the tea she was still levitating. "Don't scare us like that, sister! I mean, what happened back there?!"

"I- I don't really know. I didn't even realize what I was doing!" Luna said, remembering the shock of seeing her family nearly blown away by the wind she had been creating.

Celestia brought over the muffins and tea. "Here" She said. "I thought you might be hungry, since you didn't have dinner."

"Well, we're glad you're alright, Luna. You have no idea how worried we were. Unfortunately, both your mother and I have some matters to attend to. We'll see you when it's time for bed." King Cosmos said, as he and Queen Galaxia stood up and started toward the door.

"See you a bedtime! We love you!" Both sisters chimed. As they heard the door shut and their parents hoofsteps walk down the hall, Luna asked nervously, "So, uh. Celestia? Did I- you know…"

Celestia sighed and poked her food with her hoof for a second. Then she looked up at Luna's worried face and said simply, "No."

Luna felt like she was going to explode. All of that work, nearly _killing_ her family, all for nothing!

Celestia recognized Luna's expression. It was the face of tending to a tree for months, then having the hard-earned fruit get eaten by parasprites. It was the face of being wrongly accused by their parents of ruining a lamp, when one of the tracking dogs had knocked it over. It was the face of having a hiking trip Luna had been looking forward to for months canceled because the pegasus ponies insisted that the trail needed its water, even when rescheduling would take nearly no work. It was the face of complete and utter frustration.

Celestia took in a deep breath. "Luna." she said calmly. "I know that this is hard for you. And I know I said that the way to make up for stealing the book was to raise the moon. But maybe it's better this way. Have you noticed how weird our parents have been acting about this whole "raising the sun and moon" thing? I'll be honest; I have absolutely no clue where it came from. But I do know what we have to find it out together. So if you could tuck away your frustration for a moment maybe we can get back to the clubhouse and read a bit more of Mother's diary. I have a hunch the answer is in that book."

Luna appeared to calm down a bit. "Celestia, you're right. We need to find out what our parents are so worked up about, because they obviously aren't going to tell us. And I have a feeling it's important. So… I'll try to hide my anger until we have our answers."

Celestia smiled. "There's the calm, collected Luna I know. Now what are we waiting for? Let's grab our detective's magnifying glasses and get to work!"

Luna grinned and stood up. She succeeded for a moment before crashing back down onto her bed. "Uh… maybe we can figure this mystery out tomorrow? I don't think my legs are up to it…"

**Author's Note: Woo! Finally a chapter that's I'm proud of. Sorry it took a little while to get out, school has been crazy. Well, I hoped you enjoyed! And don't forget to leave a review :D


	7. Author's Note II

Author's Note & Holiday Updates:

Hey there! Thank you so much for staying with this fanfic, even if the author is lazy and doesn't update nearly as much as she should (I'm sorry!). Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I won't really update much until the end of January-ish. My family is crazy-huge (seriously, I'm one of fifteen cousins), so the holidays are kind of insane. Plus, there's a family get-together happening soon, so we've got to prepare for that. I also may or may not be pre-writing another fanfic, so bare with me here! Thanks for reading, and I appreciate your understanding!


	8. Secrets

Part VI

"Alright, Luna. Let's review what we know: our parents are freaking out over us raising the sun and moon." Celestia began counting off. It was the next day, and the sisters were back in their clubhouse.

There was silence for a few seconds before Luna gave a sight laugh. "And… that's all we know. Well, time to read!"

Celestia walked over to the bookshelf and took down their mother's diary.

"Alright, how should we do this? Do we read every entry or do we skim over it all?" Luna said, lying down next to Celestia on her blanket.

"Well, we don't want to miss any information by skimming, so I say that we read everything." Celestia pointed out.

"Yeah, you're right. Anything could give us a hint as to why our parents are acting this way. Now, let's get started!"

_March 17__th_

_ I'm concerned about Queen Lionheart's hostility. At the last meeting of the countries, her coldness was quite apparent. King Lighting Storm of the Dragon Country was right- if our nations are to survive the threat of the Griffons, we must form an alliance. Unfortunately these plans impossible to put into action, because dragons only form alliances through marriage. Celestia and Luna are far to young for marriage, and are obviously not dragons._

"Anything in the passage you're reading?" Luna asked her sister.

"Uh… yeah. I learned that our mother would've married us off to King Lightning Storm's nephew if we were older.

Luna rolled her eyes. "Not helpful." She said. "Let's keep reading."

_January 2__nd_

_ My, it was been a wonderful new year. The new princesses are adored by the entire country! Celestia and Luna are truly a gift from Faust. My, it will oh so wonderful when they are able to raise the sun and moon! I do think that the whole nation will celebrate!_

"Bam! Right here Luna!" Celestia shrieked suddenly.

"What did you find?" Luna said, looking up from the entry she was reading.

"In this passage, our mother seems so happy that we will someday be able to raise the sun and moon. What changed?"

Luna quickly read the passage. "I don't know." She said. "She was so happy about it here, but now both mother and father are worried sick. It just doesn't add up!"

Celestia's answer was a grumbling in her stomach. Neither sister had had breakfast; they had just dashed off as soon as they woke up.

Celestia looked at her sister, who was obviously annoyed at the interruption. Finally, Luna rolled her eyes and said, "Ugh, fine. I'll go get breakfast. Keep reading while I'm gone. And when I get back, you'd have better found something good!"

And with a flash of blue, Luna was gone.

Inside the Castle Kitchen

"Good morning, Plum Cobbler." Luna said politely to the castle chef. This was going to be tough, as Plum was known to be quite the chatterbox.

Plum Cobbler jumped and looked down at Luna. "My! Good morning, Princess. You startled me there!"

"Sorry about that. Uh, me and my sister were getting a little-" Luna tried to say, before she was interrupted by the chatty chef.

"Oh, of course, Luna dear. But let's talk for a little bit! I haven't seen you all week! You know, I was walking through the castle the other day and-"

Luna sighed. She knew that she wasn't going anywhere any time soon. And it was always better to just let Plum Cobbler talk; any words from the person she was talking to and she launched into a new topic.

_I wonder how Celestia's research is coming along?_ Luna thought.

Inside the Cave

Celestia sat huddled in her blanket, trying to keep out the chilly morning air. She wasn't having much luck finding anything useful- most of her mother's diary entries were just about normal, everyday stuff. Hikes, swimming trips, foreign meetings, everything _except_ what the royal sisters were looking for. There was a lot written about the princesses, sure. But it mostly happy things. Not one word showed any sign of sadness about them growing up.

_November 20__th_

_ Good Faust! I can tell it's going to be a chilly winter. It's only November and blizzards are already raking Equestria like a pony rakes leaves in the fall. Poor Celestia and Luna absolutely _hate_ being all holed up in the castle when they could be outside playing in the early winter snow. Even though it's kind of dirty and sludgy, the fillies have always loved the first snows of winter._

Celestia remembered that winter. It was one of the coldest in recorded history. Everything was cold and still once there was a pause in the endless blizzards. The world looked as if it was frozen in time. Not a tree's leaf stirred; not a creature dare come out of its hole.

_Ugh, when is Luna going to be back? I'm hungry, and I thought Plum had the day off!_

Inside the Castle Kitchen

"So then I said to him, "No, _I_ took out the trash yesterday!" And do you know what he responded with? Get this: he said "Nuh uh! That's what _you_ think!" Imagine that!"

Luna was positively bored out of her skull. The food had been prepared what seemed like ages ago, and she _still_ couldn't get out of the trap that was Plum Cobbler's words. The trick was to wait for a pause, make up a ridiculous excuse, then leave the room before Plum realized what you did. But so far the light tan mare's jaw just didn't feel like stopping. Then suddenly, Luna saw her chance. As Plum inhaled another breath to fuel her word avalanche, the royal blue filly quickly grabbed the picnic basket that their breakfast was packed in.

"Wellthatwasaninterestingstorybutsorrygottarun!" Luna practically shouted. And with a flash of blue, Luna stood outside the castle.

Inside the Cave

Celestia sighed with irritation. So far, almost nothing she had read gave up any useful information. All the Sun Princess had learned so far was that her mother's favorite bird was a phoenix, and that she had gotten a really weird sounding Hearts and Hooves day gift from King Cosmos.

_Huh. I wonder why this page looks so warped. Maybe mother spilled her water of it or something?_ Celestia thought. The page she was looking at had several entries, and the ink on most of them was smudged. It would be hard to decipher, but Celestia liked a challenge.

"Sweet Faust!" Celestia exclaimed as she looked at the bottom-most entry. It was nearly illegible from all the water. With sudden curiosity, Celestia lowered her head down so her nose was just above the pages. She inhaled deeply and recognized several scents. Dust, that old leather smell, and under everything else there was a hint of- salt? On some level, it made sense. The royal family had taken a trip to the Sea Pony's castle, which was in the water, last year. Celestia and Luna were left on the beach, as was the family's bags. Maybe the Queen had brought her diary, and it kept that salty smell.

But Celestia was coming to another conclusion. She flipped about fifty pages away from the ink smeared page, and smelled the new pages. This time there was no trace of salt. Now the princess was sure, it was tears on that page. Not water, not sea spray that didn't have the time to air out. Celestia had found what she was looking for. Now if only she could actually read it…

There was a sudden flash, and the lunar princess stood in the cave.

"Hey sister. Find anything?" Luna said as she set her basket down.

"I think I struck gold. The only problem is that I can't read the entry. The ink is too smudged."

"Why don't you just use that restoration spell we found when Starry Night smashed that table?"

Celestia took in a sharp breath. "Luna, you're a genius! Plus, that spell is reversible, so after we're done reading, the book will look just how it did when we, uh, _borrowed_ it."

Celestia began to concentrate, her horn glowing with the shine of the sun. With a flash of gold, the pages of the book- and the book itself- looked how they did when they were first made.

"Awesome! Thanks for suggesting that, Luna." Celestia said to her sister, more excited than ever. She immediately dove into the newly fixed-up book, while Luna continued to set up their indoor picnic.

"I don't mean to be all, well, you know. But seriously, what took so long in there?" Celestia asked, not taking her eyes of the passage.

Luna winced. "Well, let's just say we need to update our Plum Cobbler workday calendar."

Celestia glanced up at her sister. "Wait, she wasn't? Was she?"

"Yes. Yes she was." Luna sighed.

Both sisters erupted into fits of giggles before Luna said, "It's time like these when I know I wouldn't trade having a sister for anything in the world."

"Right back at ya'." Celestia smirked before returning to her book.

Luna straightened some plates before saying, "You still hungry, sister?"

"L-Luna?"

"Yeah?"

"Y-you might want to read this…"

**Author's Note: Bwahahahaha! Surprise! I hope you enjoyed, as this is good-bye till February for real this time. Thanks for reading, and please don't forget to leave a review!


	9. Emotional Scars

Part VII

"What's in that passage?" Luna asked as she took a few steps over to her sister.

Celestia was frozen with shock. She wasn't even crying; whatever had been in that book hit her like a sack of bricks.

Luna leaned down behind her sister to read the entry. There was complete silence in the early morning; not even the slightest breeze dared to rustle the leaves of the Everfree Forest.

"No…" Luna whispered, stumbling back and hitting the wall behind her. She sank down and began to sob.

Seeing her sister a complete wreak made Celestia grow up just a tiny bit. She slowly blinked, taking in everything she had just read. In truth, the Sun Princess wanted to curl up in a ball and cry like her sister, but she had to be stronger than that.

Celestia slowly stood up and walked over to her Luna. She wrapped her front legs around the Moon Princess in a comforting hug. Luna continued to cry, and Celestia soon joined her. The white filly wasn't nearly sobbing as much as her sister, but a few tears made their way down Celestia's face. The older sister looked down at the Moon Princess and noticed her horn was ablaze with blue emotion induced magic, but Celestia had bigger worries than that.

After a solid ten minutes, Luna lifted her tear-stained face and asked, "W-what do w-we do?"

For once in her life, Celestia didn't have a plan. "I-I don't know."

Luna buried her face in her mane and sobbed some more. But her sister's mind was elsewhere; she was thinking of possible solutions to their problem.

After what seemed like an eternity, Celestia broke the silence. "I know how to fix this." She said.

"You do?" Luna said, lifting her head. Her face was covered with tears, her eyes were puffy, and strands of hair had stuck to her wet cheeks.

"We have to tell our parents everything. Explain how we stole the book, the magic colors, and how we are the thieves." Celestia said bravely.

Luna's eyes widened. "But we'll be grounded for the rest of our lives!" she said.

Celestia shook her head. "That doesn't matter. If we want honesty from Mother and Father, we have to be honest with them."

Luna looked down at the dirt floor. "You're right. We need answers, and right now I'll do anything to get them."

"Should we go now?" Celestia asked.

"Yes. We need to get answers as soon as we can. There isn't any more time for crying." Luna said, trying to put on a brave face.

The sisters stood up and walked over to the door, but not before Luna grabbed their mother's diary. Bright yellow magic pulled the vine door back, and the fillies walked off into the cold morning air.

Fifteen Minutes Later

"You ready?" Celestia asked as she put her hand on the castle door, ready to open it.

Luna sighed. "I don't think I'll ever be ready to admit the worst thing I've ever done."

"Then let's get this over with." Celestia said, pushing the door open.

The fillies walked through the throne room and into the banquet hall, then up some stairs and through another hall. At the end of the hall was a great wooden door. Celestia lifted her hoof and paced three solid knocks on the door.

After a minute Queen Galaxia opened the door, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Girls? What are you doing awake at this hour? You should be in bed!" the queen said with a yawn. She took in a sharp breath when she saw her diary encased in blue magic and floating next to Luna.

"Oh! The guards have found the book. How nice of you to deliver it to me. Did they say anything about the thief?"

"Good morning mother. Uh… me and Luna have something we need to tell you and Father. Can you meet us in the throne room in half an hour?" Celestia said nervously.

"Sure. But I don't see why you can't tell me now…" Queen Galaxia said, very confused.

Celestia sighed. "It's a very serious matter, and deserves an actual conversation rather than mere doorway chat. I hope you understand."

"If this is about Luna raising the moon, it's really okay. Every flower blooms in time." The alicorn queen said.

"It's not about that, well, it kind of is. I'll tell you downstairs." Celestia said.

And with that, the sisters turned and walked down the hall. When they rounded the corner, Luna whispered to her sister, "That was awkward."

Celestia winced. "You bet. Whenever I try to be casual with something important on my mind, it either ends up being really formal or just plain awkward."

"Well, should we get ready? I haven't even brushed my mane this morning…" Luna said, trying in vain to smooth out the tangles in her sky blue hair.

"I suppose." Celestia said, glancing at her own light pink mane, which was just as tangled as her sister's.

Luna's horn was still glowing a soft blue light as the sisters made their way to the bathroom. Suddenly, the hall was ablaze with the light of a thousand tiny fires. The princesses looked up at the walls to find that they were decorated with candles of all different shapes, sizes, and colors.

Celestia glanced at her sister. "You'd better get that under control. I feel just as awful as you do, but do you see me summoning a wall full of candles?"

Luna winced and gave her horn three solid pats, making the blue glow flicker and go out. In a moment it was back again.

"Sorry Tia. My magic is largely influenced by my emotions, you know that." Luna said, sighing as she watched the candle fire dance against the shadows.

"That doesn't excuse having no control over it." Celestia's voice softened. "This is going to be hard. It'll be hard to admit what we've done, and it'll be hard to hear what our parents have to say about what we did. But we have to do this."

Luna nodded, but Celestia could see tears forming in her eyes. "That's not what I'm worried about."

Luna curled up on the floor and began crying again. The white filly leaned down next to her sister, and for a while to two of them just sat there, crying under soft candlelight.

Half an Hour Later

Celestia and Luna had somehow made their way to the throne room, and were now sitting at the foot of their parents' enormous stone chairs, trying in vain to keep their crying unnoticeable. Queen Galaxia and King Cosmos entered the room, looking regal in body but confused in mind.

"Celestia? Luna? What is the world are you crying about?" King Cosmos said, as he and Queen Galaxia trotted over to their daughters.

Celestia and Luna stood up, trying to hold themselves with some dignity.

"We have something to confess." Celestia said. Her eyes were puffy from crying and had dark circles under them. Her mane was a tattered pink mess, and strings of hair were clinging her tear-stained cheeks. Luna didn't look much better.

"We were the ones who stole Mother's diary."

Celestia's confession was met with gasps from her parents' shocked faces. Luna swallowed hard, terrified about what she had to say.

"Me and Celestia found the book on Mother's throne yesterday morning, and were curious as to what was in it. Tia formed a near fool-proof plan to steal it, including coloring our magic, teleportation, and illusion spells. We then ran to our clubhouse and began reading the book, discovering that it was a diary. We noticed how strange you two have been acting about us raising the sun and moon, and figured it was in this book." Luna's horn glowed blue as she levitated the diary beside her pained face.

"But we found something that hit us like a beam of magic from the shadows. We've given you complete honestly, now we want honestly back. What we did was despicable, but this deserves and explanation."

Luna's horn was glowing an even deeper blue as she told her tale. A small kitten was magically summoned in the doorway, and a few inanimate objects suddenly came to life. But the royal family paid this no attention. They had bigger things to deal with.

The book glided over to Celestia, who flipped to the page she had read that early morning. She began to read it again, out loud for her family.

"Eh-em." The Sun Princess tried her best to clear the lump in her throat.

"_Dear Brother Cosmos and Sister Galaxia,_

_Terrible things have come upon the Alicorn Brotherhood recently. Sister Emberessa, guardian of the Andromeda galaxy, has fallen gravely ill. I fear I need to call you both back to the heavens. I know that you have resigned from duty long ago, but the Brotherhood needs you. I am fully aware that you have children in the world you are currently- inhabiting. As soon as the two receive their cutie marks, please return to the fourth dimension immediately. Brother Sagittarius can operate the rotations of the solar systems for now, but controlling a galaxy that he isn't connected to is taking a toll on his magical abilities. As soon as Celestia and Luna have realized their destinies, have the guard Roland escort them to Star Swirl the Bearded's home. He is, as you know, a wonderful wizard for a unicorn, as is he the son of Sister Goldeneth and a mortal unicorn. Even though he is young (a mere two-hundred and twenty seven years old), he is wise and will raise your children well. They will thrive in his care._

_I cannot stretch this enough- you must return. This isn't a choice you have the right to make. These are direct orders from Creator Faust herself. Sister Emberessa is dying, and Brother Sagittarius grows weak. Your magic is needed. Return soon._

_-Mother Canis, Guardian of the Lupus Constellation"_

**Author's Note: Merry Christmas! Well, kind of. I wanted to get this out on Christmas as a sort of present to my wonderful readers, but I finished early and just couldn't wait! If you're confused about the whole Alicorn Brotherhood thing, it's a headcannon of mine and will be explained in the next chapter. Happy Holidays!


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